


Episode 1: Into the Ring (Transcript)

by kynikoi



Series: Daredevil Season 1 Episode Transcripts [1]
Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Exactly what the title says, don’t read if you want actual fanfiction, only if you forgot a line or something and don’t want to skip through the episode just to find it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:55:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26241514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kynikoi/pseuds/kynikoi
Summary: Murdock’s vigilante crime fighting and his new law practice find equally dangerous challenges in a murder case tied to a corporate crime syndicate.Or: Blind man beats the shit out of assassin and human traffickers, woman is arrested for murder then almost murdered twice, and broke lawyer bribes police officer for cases.(I originally posted this as a chapter with the other episodes transcripts, but my laptop couldn’t handle loading 100+ pages at once so now it’s a series)
Series: Daredevil Season 1 Episode Transcripts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1906108
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	Episode 1: Into the Ring (Transcript)

STREET IN HELL’S KITCHEN, THE PAST

*JACK MURDOCK walks through a crowded street with cars lined up in traffic. Cars honk and a siren wails.*

JACK: *pushing through crowd* Move... please. Matty. Get out of my way! Get out of my way!

MAN: Don't move. Help is coming, kid. Don’t move.

*JACK sees a young MATT MURDOCK laying in a chemical spill and bleeding from his head*

JACK: That's my boy. That's my boy. Matty! Matty!

MATT: Dad.

JACK: *crouches next to him* Matty! Matty! Don't, don't move, okay? No, no, no! Just... Don't move. (yelled) Somebody get us some help!

MATT: Dad, what happened? 

JACK: Matty, it's gonna be alright. Just don't move. Don't move, okay?

MATT: What happened? *JACK looks around at scene of crash*

OLD MAN: Your boy... He pushed me out of the way. He saved my life.

MATT: Oh, Dad! Oh, it burns! *JACK sees the hazardous warnings on the barrels of chemicals MATT has in his eyes*

JACK: Oh, Jesus! Close your eyes, Matty. *tries to wipe chemicals off MATT’s face with his sleeve*

MATT: Dad!

JACK: Close your eyes.

MATT: Dad! Dad!

JACK: Close your eyes.

MATT: Dad. Dad. Dad. I can't see. I can't see. I can't see! I can't see! I can't see! I can't see!

_______________________________________

CONFESSIONAL BOOTH, NOW

*MATT sits on one side of a confessional booth, FATHER LANTOM sits on the opposite side*

MATT: Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It's been, uh...It's been too long since my last confession. My dad, he used to come to this church back when I was a kid. He was a fighter. Old school. Boxer. Lost more than he won. Had a 24-31 record before he, uh...But he could take a punch. Jesus, he could take a punch.

FATHER LANTOM: Language.

MATT: Sorry, Father. Yeah, guys he went up against used to say it was like hitting oak. And nights when he was outmatched, my dad's strategy was to let 'em hit him till they broke their hands. (chuckles) He never got knocked out, my dad. Knocked down, sure. But he, uh, always got back up. He was always on his feet when he lost. Every now and then, though, uh...Every now and then, he'd get hit and...something inside of him would snap. My grandmother, she was the real Catholic. Fear of God ran deep. You'd have liked her. She used to say, "Be careful of the Murdock boys. They got the devil in 'em." And you'd see it sometimes...in the ring. His eyes would go dead...and he'd start walking forces ward, real slow, hands at his sides, like he wasn't afraid of anything. And the other guy, he'd see that look, and he'd try to get away from him. Nah. My dad, he'd catch him and...tr-trap him in the corner. Let the devil out. Now, I didn't understand it, you know. What he was feeling deep inside, I didn't understand it. Not back then.

FL: But you understand it now? Perhaps this would be easier if you tell me what you've done.

MATT: I'm not seeking penance for what I've done, Father. I'm asking forgiveness...for what I'm about to do. *puts on sunglasses*

FL: That's not how this works. What exactly are you going to do?

_______________________________________

THE DOCKS, HELL’S KITCHEN

*Men are dragging young girls into an open shipping container*

Girl (screaming): Help! Help! Help me! Help! Help me!

TURK: Hey! Hey! Man, shut up. I'm getting $1,000 a head for y'all. So, you be quiet...I let you have a bucket. You don't... *electrifies taser* (Girls scream)

*Man says something in Russian and throws girls into shipping container with help of other man*

GIRL: No! No. Please, no.

TURK: Scream all you want. Come on, let me hear you scream. Scream loud. It's okay. Nobody gives a shit down here. (laughs)

*DD crouches on top of shipping container, girls look up, see him, and scream, causing Turk to turn around and see him. DD jumps off the container and knocks Turk to the ground, then beats up the two Russian men. Turk pulls a gun from the ground and shoots at DD with it, but DD parkours up two shipping containers. Turk starts walking through the maze of shipping containers, pointing his gun at the tops of them and shooting a few times but being unable to get sights on DD. Eventually he walks back into the clearing and DD bounces Turk’s taser off a wall and into his head. He picks it up off the ground and throws it at the guy that was just eating a sandwich on his camp chair this whole time. It knocks him off the docks and into the water. Hopefully he can swim.

DD: Head towards 48th. Stay in the lights. Flag down the first officer you see. *Bangs metal container* Now!

*Turk tries to shoot at DD again, DD beats him up*

OPENING CREDITS

_______________________________________

MATT MURDOCK’S APARTMENT

*MATT is laying in his bed, shirtless, of course*

PHONE: Foggy, Foggy, Foggy.

MATT: Yeah, yeah.

PHONE: Foggy.

*MATT accepts the call, the phone beeps*

MATT: Hello.

FOGGY: Good morning, sunshine!

MATT: What time is it?

FOGGY: *walks along street* Half past get the hell up. Let's go. We gotta meet the real estate agent in 45. (Matt groans). What was that? Was that a moan? Do you have somebody in bed with you? The paralegal? Is it the para over at... Never mind, I don't wanna hear about it. No, I do wanna hear about it! What was she like?

MATT: (exhales sharply) Violent.

FOGGY: I gotta get the blind thing going. It's so unfair. Oh, hey! Real estate agent, not your type. Very homely. Might be genetic. No need to be charming. And she kinda told me she thinks blind people are "God's mistake."

MATT: That's a horrible thing to say, Foggy.

FOGGY: I know! In this day and age? All right, shake it. I gotta go bribe a cop.

MATT: Ah, Foggy.

FOGGY: Kidding, NSA, if you're listening. But seriously, yeah, I gotta go bribe a cop.

_______________________________________

ANOTHER STREET IN HELL’S KITCHEN

*BRETT MAHONEY exits a subway platform onto the street. FOGGY NELSON is waiting for him and waves*

BRETT: Officer of the law. Defense attorney. We're supposed to be enemies.

FOGGY: First off, we've been enemies since we were four, Brett, so let's not blame it on career choices. Secondly, I'm not a particularly good defense attorney, so helping me is like helping yourself. And finally, these are for Bess. *hands paper bag*

BRETT: Please stop giving my mom cigars, Foggy.

FOGGY: What? She'll outlive us all. Look, I'm not asking you to do anything immoral. Just give me a heads up if something, you know, interesting walks through the door.

BRETT: You're right. It ain't the careers. *starts walking away*

FOGGY: Thanks, buddy!

_______________________________________

OFFICE

*SUSAN HARRIS, a real estate agent, is giving FOGGY a tour of an office*

SUSAN: You've got a reception area, a conference room and two offices. Corner suite has a view of the Hudson. You can flip a coin with your partner for it.

MATT: *walks through door* Uh, he can have the view.

SUSAN: I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-

MATT: Of course not.

SUSAN: Susan Harris. Midtown Property Solutions. *holds hand out to shake*

MATT: *doesn’t take it* Matt Murdock 

*SUSAN retracts her hand, laughs awkwardly, and curtsies*

FOGGY: She just curtsied. It was adorable.

MATT: Well, it's nice to know chivalry isn't dead. Susan, would you mind walking me around the space?

SUSAN: Of course. My pleasure. *holds out her arm as FOGGY shakes his head behind her. They all walk through an open door into the next office* As I was telling your associate, this office was barely touched by the incident, which is why it's on the market already. The neighbors weren't so lucky.

MATT: “The incident"? Is that what we're calling it now?

SUSAN: Well, it sounds so much better than "death and destruction raining from the sky, nearly wiping Hell's Kitchen off the map." *MATT lets go of her arm as they all stop*

MATT: Shorter, too.

FOGGY: Owner figuring in the delightful view of cranes and scaffolding? Feels like we're getting pre-incident prices.

SUSAN: They're a quarter of what they used to be. Hell's Kitchen's on the rebound, Mr. Nelson, and in 18 months, you won't be able to rent a broom closet at this price point.

MATT: We'll take it.

*MATT, FOGGY, and SUSAN all walk back into the main room as they talk*

FOGGY: (chuckles) We will talk about it. Because we're not sure we can afford even this palace, unless we make some changes to our current clientele policies. 

MATT: My partner and I are having some disagreements over the direction of Nelson and Murdock. I believe we're here to defend the innocent.

FOGGY: And I believe the innocent includes everyone not yet convicted of a crime. You know, as the law states.

MATT: He tends to use fancy terminology.

FOGGY: And my partner fails to recognize that, as defense attorneys, we're never gonna be able to keep the lights on, waiting on a horde of innocent souls to stumble into our loving arms.

MATT: At this point, I'd settle for just one.

_______________________________________

KAREN PAGE’S APARTMENT

*KAREN PAGE stares at DANIEL FISHER’s body while holding a bloody knife. 2 police officers bust her door open and point their guns at her*

COP: Drop the knife!

KAREN: No, no, I didn't…*puts hands up*

COP: Drop it!

KAREN: I didn't do this! I didn't…*Drops knife* I didn't do this!

COP: Get on the ground!

KAREN: I didn't do this!

COP: Now!

KAREN (sobbing): *gets on ground* Oh, God! Oh, God! No, I didn't do this. Oh, God! I didn't do this! Oh, no! I didn't do this!

_______________________________________

NELSON & MURDOCK OFFICE

MATT and FOGGY unpack in their new offices. FOGGY’s phone rings and he picks it up*

FOGGY: (on phone) Hey, buddy.

BRETT: *standing outside police precinct* Homicide. Female suspect found at the scene. Definitely qualifies as interesting.

FOGGY: She's been charged yet?

BRETT: Assistant DA hasn't made the call yet.

FOGGY: Do you have a name on the suspect?

BRETT: Yeah. Page. Karen Page.

_______________________________________

INTERROGATION ROOM

*KAREN is sitting at a desk, handcuffed to a table. Door opens and FOGGY, MATT, Detective BLAKE, and Detective HOFFMAN walk in*

FOGGY: Okay, can we please take the handcuffs off the 110-pound woman?

BLAKE: Miss Page, can you tell me who these men are?

MATT: We're her lawyers. Uncuff our client and give us the room, please. *DETECTIVE BLAKE uncuffs her* Thank you, Detective. *Detectives leave and door lock buzzes* Miss Page, my name is Matt Murdock. This is my associate, Foggy Nelson. Do you mind if we sit down?

FOGGY: She gave a vague shrug. I say we go with it. *MATT and FOGGY sit down*

MATT: We understand you're in some trouble. We, uh, may be able to help.

FOGGY: Can you tell us what happened? (Karen is silent) Why don't we start with what we know, then? (sighs) You were found in your apartment with one Daniel Fisher. 

MATT: Who appears to be the victim of a homicide, and currently, you're the only suspect, Miss Page.

KAREN: Who the hell are you guys?

MATT: I'm Matt. He's Foggy.

KAREN: Who sent you?

MATT: No one sent us.

KAREN: So, what? You're just a couple of Good Samaritans? Today's just my lucky day?

FOGGY: I bribed the desk sergeant with a box of cigars for his mom.

MATT: Our practice is relatively young, Miss Page, and we are aggressively pursuing new clientele. (whispers) You gotta stop giving Bess cigars.

FOGGY: She likes to smoke, Matt. It's a free country.

KAREN: So how long have you been practicing law?

MATT: What time is it?

FOGGY: It's 12:22 a.m.

MATT: About seven hours.

FOGGY: Well, if you go from when we passed the bar...

MATT: I was going from when we got our own desks.

FOGGY: Oh, then, yeah. Seven hours.

KAREN: You've never done this before?

MATT: If you were to hire us, then, yes, you would be our first client.

FOGGY: Technically. Yeah.

KAREN: Well, I don't... I don't have any money.

FOGGY: Well, it was lovely to meet you, Miss Page. *starts to leave*

MATT: You don't have any money and we don't have any clients. Maybe we can help each other. Tell me, how did you know Mr. Fisher?

KAREN: We worked together. *MATT motions to FOGGY, he sits back down and opens a notebook*

FOGGY: And your place of employment?

KAREN: Union Allied Construction. I'm a secretary. Daniel worked downstairs in Legal. I didn't know him very well. But he was always nice, you know? But it's hard to meet people in the city, so I asked him if he would have a drink with me.

MATT: You asked him?

KAREN: (voice breaking) Like I said, he was a nice guy. We met at the Three Roads bar, on 49th Street. We had a few drinks, and the next thing that I remember is waking up on the floor of my apartment covered in blood. His blood. No, I'm not stupid. I know how that sounds. But I am telling you we met at the bar. We had a few drinks. And I don't know what happened after that. It wasn't me. Please. Please, you have to believe me. (sniffles) I didn't kill him. 

MATT: *listens to heartbeat* I believe you, Miss Page.

_______________________________________

A PARK IN NEW YORK

*FARNUM sits on a bench behind a table, eating lunch. JAMES WESLEY walks over and sits beside him*

FARNUM: (sighs) There's plenty of room over there. Do you mind?

WESLEY: 28,957.

FARNUM: Tell Rigoletto he'll get his money.

WESLEY: Mr. Rigoletto has retired. His books have been acquired by my employer.

FARNUM: Ah. Well, you tell him the same thing.

WESLEY: I'd like to show you something. Do you have a moment? *opens laptop to show a feed of FARNUM’s daughter sitting in the grass* What is it about college girls and Monet T-shirts? Open composition and the spontaneity reflecting this transformative time in their lives, perhaps? Or maybe they just like the color blue. Call her.

*FARNUM calls his DAUGHTER*

DAUGHTER: Hey, Dad, what's up?

FARNUM: Hi, baby, I'm just checking in. You need anything?

DAUGHTER: Uh, yeah, I actually have a ton of laundry. I was gonna swing by this weekend and use the machine. And then, maybe we could catch a movie after your shift?

FARNUM: Yeah, yeah. That'd be great. Uh, look...Baby, I got-I gotta go. I love you, baby.

DAUGHTER: Love you, too. Bye, Dad. *hangs up*

WESLEY: *points to man on bench in video feed* Now, you see this man here? If we're being honest with each other, Mr. Farnum, I find his methods unpleasant. But such are the times we live in. Give us a wave, Mr. Rance. *Rance waves*

FARNUM: I told you that I will get you the money.

WESLEY: Such a small sum is of little interest to my employer. Your position, however, that's something we can work with.

FARNUM: (sighs) What do you want me to do?

_______________________________________

NELSON & MURDOCK OFFICE

*MATT messes with a recording device while FOGGY throws and catches a baseball*

FOGGY: I'm friends with Gary Feinstein in the DA's office. I'll give him a call first thing in the morning, see where their heads are at. I'm guessing they're gonna puff their chests, but they have to know murder two's a risk. We end up at manslaughter, we get the right judge, maybe she's out in five to 10...

MATT: We're not taking a deal.

FOGGY: No, this is why they have deals, Matt. So the straightforward cases don't waste everybody's time.

MATT: I don't think she did it.

FOGGY: She's the sole suspect, found at the scene, covered in blood, *holds up recording device to mouth* with the murder weapon and no defensive wounds. *sets recording device down* If they offer anything it'll be a gift, and we will take that gift. We do not want this to go to trial.

MATT: They don't want this to go to trial, either. Why hasn't she been charged yet?

FOGGY: They have 24 hours. And it's the weekend. They're gonna take every last second to collect the evidence before they move.

MATT: They've got the evidence. You just laid it out yourself. This is a good arrest, Foggy. We should already be reading about it in the papers. There's something not right about this case. I can feel it.

FOGGY: You can feel it? All right, I'm just gonna say this once, and we can move on. You don't necessarily show the best judgment when beautiful women are involved, Matt.

MATT: How would I even know if she's a beautiful woman?

FOGGY: I don't know. It's kinda spooky, actually. But if there's a stunning woman with questionable character in the room, Matt Murdock's gonna find her and Foggy Nelson is gonna suffer.

MATT (chuckling): All right, I don't disagree with anything you're saying-

FOGGY: Thank you.

MATT: -But I need you to back me anyway.

FOGGY: (groans) All right. Fine. Let's start with the obvious, then. If she didn't do it, who did? We're dead in the water if we don't give them an alternative.

MATT: Agreed.

FOGGY: We need to take another run at our client. She may not be guilty, Matt, but that doesn't mean Miss Page is telling the truth.

_______________________________________

JAIL CELL

*KAREN is laying in her prison bed, but stirs when she hears someone approaching. FARNUM covers her mouth with his hand and wraps a sheet around her throat to try to strangle her while she screams*

FARNUM: I’m sorry.

*KAREN fights back and scratches his eye, managing to get a way from him. She screams for help.*

_______________________________________

INTERROGATION ROOM

*MATT and FOGGY stand and talk inaudibly. Detectives BLAKE and HOFFMAN enter the room and they all sit down at a table*

MATT: I'm gonna make this easy, Detectives. Get the ADA in here to release Miss Page and we'll recommend to our charming, media-friendly client that she not plaster the airwaves with how she was nearly killed in your custody.

FOGGY: And I'll agree not to make cooing noises for the rest of this meeting when I think of the civil suit that we have on our hands.

BLAKE: How do you know they're not charging her?

MATT: Besides the fact that you were required to do so four hours ago...if you were gonna do it at all?

FOGGY: That's an excellent question. Along with how the security cameras on Miss Page's detention area went on the fritz right before the assault.

MATT: Yeah, we'd like to speak to Mr. Farnum about that, as well as what-

HOFFMAN: Get in line. He'll be arraigned in the morning.

MATT: Get my client released. Don't make me ask again.

(Detective Hoffman whispers to Detective Blake)

BLAKE: I'll call the ADA. But you take that tone with me again, I don't care if you're blind, I'll kick the shit out of you.

FOGGY: Really? We're going there? *Detectives leave* (scoffs) That was pleasant.

MATT: It doesn't make any sense. ADA had everything they needed. Unless they had too much. *stands up*

FOGGY: What? What am I missing? *stands up*

MATT: Maybe someone else was in her apartment that night. Maybe they have evidence.

FOGGY: That's Brady material. They'd have to turn that over.

MATT: Only if she were charged. She hangs herself in her cell, this all goes away.

FOGGY: (exhales sharply) Let's get her some clothes and get the hell out of here.

_______________________________________

NELSON & MURDOCK OFFICE

*KAREN sits at a table in the office, staring off into space. FOGGY approaches with a mug of tea and hands it to her.*

FOGGY: Couldn't find any milk. I hope it's okay.

*KAREN doesn’t drink it, for obvious reasons. 

MATT: We have tea now?

FOGGY: I stole it from the financial office next door.

MATT: *sits down across from KAREN* (sighs) How are you holding up?

KAREN: Better. Thanks for getting me out.

FOGGY: Don't thank us yet. Just because they released you doesn't mean they won't eventually bring charges.

MATT: Which means it's crucial you don't speak to anyone other than the two of us about what happened.

KAREN: I don't have anyone to talk to, anyway.

MATT: Do you have somewhere you can stay tonight?

KAREN: My apartment's not far.

FOGGY: You can't go back there.

MATT: Miss Page, our immediate priority is to keep you safe. And in order to do that, we're gonna need to have a frank discussion.

KAREN: Okay.

MATT: Do you know who's trying to kill you?

KAREN: No.

MATT: Do you know why they're trying to kill you?

KAREN (whispered): Yes.

~

*KAREN, MATT, and FOGGY all sit at a circular table. Someone turns on a recording device. FOGGY is taking notes*

KAREN: I, uh, work...worked in the financial department at Union Allied. They're overseeing the bulk of the government contracts for the West Side reconstruction.

FOGGY: I've seen their signs all over Hell's Kitchen.

KAREN: The last two years have transformed the business. There's new owners, new grants, new contracts.

MATT: Yeah, the world watched half of New York get destroyed. That's a lot of sympathy.

KAREN: And Union Allied benefited from every dollar of it. I was the secretary for the chief accountant. And one of my jobs... was to coordinate the pension claims for the company. About a week ago, I was emailed a file called, "Pension Master." It must have been meant for my boss, but I made the mistake of opening it.

MATT: I'm guessing it wasn't the pension fund.

KAREN: It wasn't the size of the pension fund. I couldn't believe the numbers. But it was still being designated as company pension. And it was constantly adjusted. Money coming in and money going out.

FOGGY: Going where?

KAREN: I don't know. It was coded routing numbers, but we are talking a lot of money.

MATT: What did you do with the file?

KAREN: Well, I told my boss, Mr. McClintock, about it, and he laughed it off. He said that it was a theoretical model that they were screwing around with. I knew something was wrong. I just...I thought maybe it was just him, you know? Embezzling or whatever.

MATT: So, how did Daniel Fisher figure into this?

KAREN: Danny worked in the legal department. And I didn't know him very well. But he was nice, so I asked him to meet me after work. I don't know how they knew. They must have people watching me. They must have people everywhere. All I did was ask him for a drink. And start to tell him about what I found and things got blurry. Like I was drugged. And the next thing I know, I wake up... back in my apartment, covered in blood. *tries not to cry* They killed him...because of me. And he had a family. A little boy. *covers her mouth* I need to get out of here. I'm sorry. *gets up to leave*

FOGGY: *blocks path* We can't advise that, Miss Page.

KAREN: No, you don't understand. Either you're with them or you're not. And if you're with them, then I'm dead already. And if you are not, then I cannot have anybody else die because of me.

MATT: We can protect ourselves, Miss Page.

KAREN: No, you can't. Not from them.

FOGGY: Miss Page...

KAREN: No.

FOGGY: We can't let you go home.

KAREN: Please, just… (sobs) *FOGGY hugs her*

MATT: She can stay with me. Just for tonight, until we figure something out. I'll keep you safe, Karen. 

_______________________________________

MATT MURDOCK’S APARTMENT

*MATT opens door to his apartment, KAREN walks in and he follows*

MATT: I don't have much in the way of food, but there's a Thai place on the corner. *closes door and leans cane on wall* If we order now, it should get here by the time I make up the bedroom for you.

KAREN: It's a little dark in here.

MATT: (laughs) I never...uh, light switch is on the wall to your left. * walks down hall, turns around* So, uh, want some food?

KAREN: Uh, no, I'm not... Would you have a shirt I could borrow, maybe? This one's a little wet, and I'm a Hellions fan.

MATT: (chuckles) Then don't tell Foggy. Let me grab something for you. *walks to bedroom*

KAREN: And, really, I can't put you out of your bedroom. I'll be just fine on the couch.

MATT: From what I understand about my living room, that might not be true.

KAREN: *walks up to living room window and looks out* Holy shit!

MATT: Went up a year ago. I'm told the co-op nearly rioted, some oversight from the developer's agreement. Upside is, nobody wanted it and I got a corner apartment at a hell of a discount.

*MATT gives KAREN a shirt, KAREN puts it on*

KAREN: Thanks. Can I ask a personal question?

MATT: I haven't always been blind.

KAREN: I guess that's what everyone wants to know.

MATT: That or, "How do you comb your hair?"

KAREN: How do you comb your hair?

MATT: Honestly, you just...You hope for the best.

*MATT hands her a glass of water*

KAREN: Thank you.

MATT: You wanna sit?

KAREN: How did it happen?

MATT: Car accident. When I was nine. *KAREN and MATT sit*

KAREN: Must have been rough.

MATT: No. I made it through.

KAREN: Do you remember what it was like...To...To see?

MATT: I, um... Yes, I remember.

KAREN: I can't imagine what that must be like.

MATT: You know, I'm supposed to say I don't miss it. That's what they teach you in trauma recovery. Define yourself by what you have, value the differences, make no apologies for what you lack. And it's all true, for the most part… but it doesn't change the fact that I...I'd give anything to see the sky one more time. Do you mind if I ask you some questions now?

KAREN: *nods* Uh - Go ahead.

MATT: You just nodded, right? (laughs)

KAREN: (chuckles) Uh, yeah.

MATT: Okay. Here's what I don't understand. *stands up* (clears throat) I'm the man in charge of the pension funds and I find out one of my secretaries has discovered my illicit activity. To make matters worse, she's now telling people about said activity. Which, obviously, I can't have. So I decide to take action. But why don't I kill you?

KAREN: They tried.

MATT: Yeah, the second time. In the jail. But the first time, they left you alive. Why? What were they trying to do? Frame you? Now, the second time, maybe that's a change of plan. *sits down across from KAREN* Something doesn't go their way, something sloppy at the crime scene. Two lawyers show up out of the blue before their people can get to you. So they figure, okay, maybe Karen hangs herself in her cell, and this thing gets swept under the rug. But the first time... The first time, they're not trying to kill you. They're trying to discredit you. They're trying to scare you. And the only reason that they would do that... is if you have something that they want. So, I've been trying to think about what that could be, and the only thing I've come up with... is the Union Allied pension file. Did you keep the file, Karen?

*MATT listens to her heartbeat to tell if she’s lying*

KAREN: No. As soon as I asked my boss about it, he took it away from me. The IT guys, they came and they wiped the computers. Believe me, a part of me wishes I'd made a copy for myself...but I guess I'm just not that smart. 

MATT: Ah, well, it was just a thought. *leans back and takes sip from glass*

_______________________________________

UNION ALLIED BUILDING

*NOBU, MADAME GAO, LELAND OWLSLEY, and ANATOLY and VLADIMIR RANSKAHOV all stand in a circle on a high floor of a Union Allied building*

LELAND: It's freezing this high up. Next time we're meeting at Per Se. I'll domesticate you boys yet.

VLADIMIR: This would be a balmy day in Samara, Leland.

LELAND: Yes, it's perfect Chechnyans-kidnap-a-preschool weather, Vladimir. (to Nobu) Can you at least pretend to be cold? It's unsettling.

(Gao laughs and says something in Chinese)

LELAND: Anyone here speak Chinese? Nobu?

ANATOLY: The man is Japanese.

LELAND: I know, I know. I just thought that...Forget it.

*WESLEY walks off and elevator behind NOBU*

LELAND: (to Wesley) Oh, please tell me he's right behind you.

WESLEY: Unfortunately, my employer is attending to other matters. He apologizes to you in particular, Madame Gao.

(Anatoly says something in Russian*

VLADIMIR: We do not deal with lap dogs. Tell Mister-

WESLEY: We don't say his name.

ANATOLY: Woof, woof.

*VLADIMIR and ANATOLY start to walk off*

WESLEY: He would like to know why you're short on the cargo totals.

*VLADIMIR and ANATOLY turn around*

VLADIMIR: There was a problem on the docks.

ANATOLY: Barrett and our men were attacked. Some moodak in a black mask.

LELAND: And you bought that?

*VLADIMIR says something in Russian and starts forward*

LELAND: Okay, calm down. Fine, we'll go with the man-in-black story.

VLADIMIR: Our men would not lie.

LELAND: I said I'm on board. I'm glad to hear there's some new blood running around out there. Heroes and their consequences are why we have our current opportunities. Now can we review the latest numbers and-

WESLEY: Tell me more about this man.

ANATOLY: Took Barrett and our guys out while they were loading the container.

(Gao says something in Chinese)

WESLEY: (chuckles) She wants to know if this man stole the shipment for himself.

VLADIMIR: No. He let the women go.

WESLEY: He took out your men. How?

VLADIMIR: Caught them by surprise. Beat them.With his bare hands.

WESLEY: Four men with his bare hands?

ANATOLY: That is what we were told.

WESLEY: Perhaps you should have been there yourself-

LELAND: Again, I have to ask, why do we care? Every time one of these guys punches someone through a building, our margins go up 3%. We should be celebrating.

WESLEY: This is different. My employer will be...displeased...we're being inconvenienced by a lone vigilante.

VLADIMIR: Then he should tell me to my face.

WESLEY: This is on you. Deal with it. Quietly.

ANATOLY: We must be quiet, yes. We would not want another Union Allied situation, would we? Big, loud, lot of questions.

WESLEY: We're handling it.

VLADIMIR: Like you keep saying you're handling Prohaszka?

WESLEY: We're in the process of negotiating with Mr. Prohaszka.

ANATOLY: Negotiating? Maybe we handle our problem same way. Sit down with this man in black, break bread.

LELAND: I think what Anatoly's trying to say is that it would be in our best interests for Union Allied to be tidied up as expeditiously as possible.

WESLEY: As I said...we're handling it.

_______________________________________

MATT MURDOCK’S APARTMENT

*KAREN sneaks out of MATT’s apartment as he sleeps/pretends to sleep on the couch. He opens his eyes as she closes the front door on her way out*

_______________________________________

STREET IN HELL’S KITCHEN

*KAREN walks to the other side of the road to her apartment building, looking back very shadily*

_______________________________________

KAREN’S APARTMENT

*KAREN enters her apartment and glances around. Her gaze lingers on the blood on her floor, but she moves on into her bathroom. She grabs the flash drive she hid in a vent in the ceiling. Rance, who was hiding in her apartment, attacks her from behind as she starts to leave. He knocks her down and she drops the flash drive, which he picks up. He draws a knife and walks toward her menacingly, but turns around when he hears DD open the front door. They fight and break furniture for a few minutes before they knock each other out KAREN’s window. DD lays on the asphalt in the rain.

_______________________________________

THE MURDOCK’S APARTMENT, THE PAST

*Young MATT lays at a dining table, asleep behind some schoolbooks. JACK walks in and drops his bag on the floor*

JACK: Get up, Matty. Hey. Let's go, finish up. *opens freezer, takes out bag of frozen something*

MATT: *picks his head up* I'm tired, Dad.

JACK: Hey, I don't want you to end up like your old man. *sits at table, puts bag of frozen something on his bruised face* I never studied. Look where it got me. 

*JACK puts down frozen bag on the table, picks up MATT’s hand, and lets him feel his face, a few drops of JACK’s blood drip onto the table*. 

JACK: Come on, Matty. Get to work.

_______________________________________

OUTSIDE KAREN PAGE’S APARTMENT, NOW

*Rance runs down the fire escape he landed on as DD gets, up they both start fighting again. DD manages to tie Rance up with chains hanging off the fire escape and knock him out with a slightly unnecessary kick flip, causing DD to fall to the ground. KAREN arrives at the scene*

KAREN: Who… *DD pats down Rance and grabs the flash drive* What the hell?

DD: I'll get this into the right hands. *starts to walk away*

KAREN (yelling): No, you can't. You can't take it to the police. You can't trust anyone.

DD: Then we tell everyone.

_______________________________________

THE BULLETIN (?)

*DD drops of Rance on steps with an envelope addressed to the editor, presumably with the flash drive in it*

_______________________________________

IN A CAR

WESLEY: DNA evidence will put Rance at the murder scene. B&E gone sideways, his records altered in support. Mr. Farnum's bail has been arranged for through the usual channels. Leland's to cover our exposure on the financials and McClintock takes the fall for Union Allied.

FISK: We can't have McClintock speaking to the authorities.

WESLEY: Pills. He overdosed less than an hour ago. The remaining concerns will be attended to shortly.

FISK: Rance was a professional. How was he subdued?

WESLEY: I'm looking into it. What about the girl? Should I make the appropriate arrangements for her, along with the others?

FISK: No. Everything she knows is already in the papers. Her lawyers, Nelson and Murdock.

WESLEY: Ambulance chasers. They're clean.

FISK: Start a file. They may be of use.

WESLEY: Understood.

_______________________________________

OFFICE

*KAREN brings a dish of something to MATT and FOGGY, who are sitting at a table* 

KAREN: Here you go. *sets it on table* So I know it's not much in the way of repayment. But it is, um, my grandmother's recipe, and she made me promise only to serve it to my future husband. *sits at table and starts to serve it* You know, it's, like, filled with virtue or something.

MATT: I thought I detected a whiff of virtue in there.

FOGGY: Not that I'm complaining, but you really should be thanking the nut in the mask.

KAREN: He's not a nut. I mean, he's a little weird, maybe...

MATT: We're just glad you're okay.

FOGGY: Hear, hear!

KAREN: Well, if it weren't for you two, I'd still be in that cell.

MATT: Well. Job's easy when your client's innocent. All you did was tell the truth.

KAREN: Yeah, but you listened. *MATT takes another bite very awkwardly*

FOGGY: Oh, and don't get us wrong, we're still gonna bill you. Just as soon as we figure out how to make bills. (Foggy and Matt laugh)

KAREN: I did notice that you could use some help around here. And I owe you. Maybe I could clean the place up a bit.

MATT: Is this place messy?

FOGGY: Our firm is very prestigious and discerning, Miss Page. Do you have any prior experience (laughs) hiding electrical cords up in ceiling tiles?

KAREN: Uh, no, but... I'll work for free.

MATT: Yeah, you're hired. (Karen laughs)

FOGGY: You just got hired!

_______________________________________

FOGWELL’S GYM

*MATT opens the door to Fogwell’s Gym and hands a wad of cash to the owner

MATT: You can leave the lights off. *owner leaves*

*MATT starts boxing to a montage of bad guys doing bad guy things*

IN A ROOM

*LELAND transfers money using a computer*

CUT TO FOGWELL’S

IN A DIFFERENT ROOM

*FARNUM’S DAUGHTER finds FARNUM dead by a shot to the bottom of the head with a gun in his hand and screams*

CUT TO FOGWELL’S

PRISON CELL

*Rance is hanging by a sheet, also dead*

CUT TO FOGWELL’S

WAREHOUSE

*Blind Chinese (?) people are preparing drugs while GAO supervises them*

CUT TO FOGWELL’S

IN ANOTHER ROOM

*NOBU laughs evilly while looking at construction plans*

CUT TO FOGWELL’S

STREET IN NEW YORK

*Turk inspects a gun from one of the crates he plans on buying*

CUT TO FOGWELL’S

A STREET IN HELL’S KITCHEN

*A van pulls up next to a car, men get out and ANATOLY forcibly removes a man from the car*

MAN: Hey, come on!

*ANATOLY, VLADIMIR, and a henchmen beat the man in front of his child, who is still in the man’s car*

*VLADIMIR pulls kid out of car, who screams for his dad while VLADIMIR carries him to the van. They drive away with the kid*

ROOF IN HELL’S KITCHEN

*MATT listens to the city, hears the boy screaming and lowers his mask to go help him*

END CREDITS

**Author's Note:**

> I keep trying to be annoyed that I had to watch this episode like three times to make sure everything’s right, but I can’t. It’s still entertaining even when I know exactly what’s going to happen. Anyways, I hope this is helpful for people, because I’m going to post more. I just have to make a few formatting changes to episode 2 and 3 and I’ll add them to the series. Also, let me know if anything looks wrong in the comments and I’ll revise it.


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